A blog about my everyday life and whatever random things I'm interested in at the time.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Bubble & Geek - Tarts

This was a totally unplanned, laughing my butt off, couldn't resist haul . . . and I was soooo excited to come across this shop. Ok, the other night I was absolutely bored and found myself browsing Etsy again, but this time doing random searches for anything and everything that popped into my head. When a search of 'Warcraft' showed tarts in the results I was like 'What. The. Heck?' and of course had to click and check it out. That is how I found Bubble & Geek. It only took a couple seconds to fall in love because all of the candles and tarts (and some other goodies) are geek inspired, like from video games TV shows and books. When I saw not only Harry Potter and World of Warcraft inspired scents, but also Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones (!) I knew I had to order!! And I never stopped giggling about it!

Treacle Tart - 'A treacle tart is a traditional British dessert, perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. This scent combines deliciously sweet shortcrust pastry with a thick filling of golden syrup, breadcrumbs, and lemon juice.' I don't know if this is meant to relate to Harry Potter, or just that it's yummy, but in my mind I lumped it with Harry scents and had to order it. And yummy it is! It is a sweet bakery scent, not spicy at all. It's a deep, rich sweetness too, not like a headache inducing candy-sweet. At first I think there is maple, but it's probably that 'golden syrup,' and you get light notes of crust, and then the faint note of lemon kinda sneaks up to brighten it all. Super yummy!

Pumpkin Pasties - 'This scent is of pumpkin pasties, which are cinnamon sugar-covered pastries that contain sweet pumpkin filling. Yum! Just in time for fall.' Another of those Harry Potter type scents, this one even looks cool. Whether intended or not, there is a light colored ring around the edge that makes this look like a tiny pumpkin pie. This one is a strong pumpkin scent, and spicy but not overly so. This is possibly my favorite pumpkin scent out of ALL the fall tarts I've gotten so far.

Butterbeer - 'This scent combines deliciously sweet butterscotch and vanilla with a faint background of sweet alcohol.' You can't know Harry Potter and not know about Butterbeer. When I saw this was butterscotch, I knew I'd be getting it. I think the 'sweet alcohol' is really playing with it though, because my very first reaction to this was 'Eeeuw, bummer.' After many more sniffs and some time to sit out, it's not quite as 'eeuw' but it's still nowhere near as yummy as I'd imagined it would be. There is a warm, sweetness, yeah . . . but there is something sour or tart or whatever, from what must be the alcohol note. It's not a bad scent, just not what I'd expected.

Khaleesi - 'This fragrance is a luxurious blend of sugared orange, mulberry, and a hint of spice, and is how I imagine Daenerys Targaryen might smell when she is NOT traveling across the desert with a Dothraki horde.' I admit I am far from current in my Game of Thrones viewing, but I do know what/who Khaleesi refers to and have always loved the name and the character. This is the surprise favorite of my little order. It is a FABULOUS scent! You get the orange first but it is quickly mixed with the sugar and mulberry and then that little bit of spice makes it perfect. It's a soft, warm spice . . . not sharp and overpowering. Oh my gosh, I just love this one!! Even hubby loves it, although I think he just liked the idea of sniffing Khaleesi. *rolls eyes* I might have to get a candle in this scent. Lovelovelove it!!

Ice and Fire - 'This scent blends the fiery aroma of cinnamon with an icy mint bouquet and adds a vanilla undertone that results in a unique and beguiling fragrance.' One of the free samples I received is another Game of Thrones inspired scent. I'd been debating getting this one when I was ordering the above tarts, and in the end decided to wait till next time. So I was thrilled to see it as a sample! This is very minty, with the cinnamon giving it a sort of 'dry' spicy kick, and all of it is then softened just slightly by the vanilla. At first I didn't like it, but now I'm warming up to it.

Hobbit Garden - 'What does a hobbit garden smell like, you ask? Well, this one smells of a relaxing combination of English ivy, oak moss, fruits (particularly juicy apple), and a hint of garden mint.' The other free sample I got was another I'd seriously been considering getting. I don't think I've mentioned it for a while but I *love* Lord of the Rings! This one is very nice, and quite far from my usual bakery type scents. There is a very soft mint note but this one mainly reminds me of a 'wet greenery' scent, if that makes any sense. I do get a bit of sweetness, somewhat recognizable as apple, and a bit of a wood note, but overall it's a really nice wet spring morning type scent. Gah, I hope you know what I'm trying to babble.

The regular size tarts are 2 oz. and sell for $2.50 in the Bubble & Geek Etsy shop. That is a bit more than other shops I've tried lately but sometimes it's just worth it for the sentimental geek factor. The two sample ones are .5 oz each. Shipping was crazy fast!! I ordered late Friday night and received my order Monday morning!! And Cathy, the owner, was so prompt and friendly in replying to my messages of gushing geeky adoration. There isn't a huge selection of scents in the shop right now but there are several sizes of candles to choose from, as well as the tarts, and also some body products like lotion and roll-on perfume. I really hope she comes up with more inspired scents. This is one shop I will be keeping an eye on! My next order will be for some Doctor Who scents, hehe!

So yeah, pure fun is what led me to try this shop. I'd never heard of this one before I stumbled across it. Hopefully I can help connect some other geeky folks like me to some uniquely scented wax goods.

Do YOU have a geeky side? What inspired scents would you be thrilled to find?

I tried to stay away from this post! But I just could not! And now I am both upset and happy I came here. There goes some money! I cannot wait to try these! It is funny because while ago when the bathing gardens had their contest, I entered a video game themed group of tarts. I am a gamer girl :)

That is hilariously awesome that you stumbled across this. Talk about a perfect match. Dood, I want wet spring morning type scent. I don't know nothing 'bout no Game of Thrones, but I cracked up at the thing about Kurth liking the idea of sniffing Khaleesi. The Pumpkin Pasties one does totally look like a pumpkin pie! I wonder if it *was* on purpose. Enjoy thy geektarts!

I've melted the two little green ones and they were both nice. Haven't dived into the regular sized ones yet. Still love the Khaleesi scent, and still considering getting a candle of it for Kurth in the living room. Maybe for Christmas, shhhhhhh.